Corruptions Are Best Exposed In The Autumn!

Chapter 22 - For The Sake Of Dignity

I hurried down the crosswalk, hopping over a small puddle in the process. The bottom half of my legs were already soaked by the splashes I received from nearby cars.

"Why do we have this much rain in August?" I muttered to myself. "I guess it's almost autumn again soon."

When Lily and I left for the hospital earlier today, the sun was like a ball of rage, shining its blaze all over the city and causing everyone to seek shade. But within just a few hours...

"Yikes!"

Another puddle wave - this time from a bus - had splashed all over me; unlike the other incidents, this one was like an ocean wave wiping out a surfer, eating me up from head to bottom. By the time I reached the last block when I was back at Muller's Blend, there was not a single dry patch on my body.

I should've just told the taxi driver to pull up closer... I thought, and thought back to the way I departed Mila's hospital room an hour ago when Lily reminded me that the café wasn't locked yet:

"If you never received my letter, then who could've taken it?" I asked. "I made sure the address was correct and shipped it with the most expensive service I could find!"

"Then perhaps someone stole it before it got to me," Mila suggested while lying back down on her pillow. Before I could reply, Lily burst into the room with her phone against her ear.

"Kai! Bad news!" she announced. Her voice was coated in a layer of fear. "The security went off at our café, someone broke in! We forgot to lock the door!"

"Shit!" I glanced at Mila, who nodded for me to go. "Okay, I'll head back right now!"

My eyes caught sight of the Muller's Blend sign on top of our door and made one last dash across the crosswalk. I peeked into the window, breathing a sigh of relief to find no one inside.

Not yet... I thought as I swung open the door. They could be hiding!

But instead of burglars who I imagined would've kicked down the tables and chairs, the opposite had happened instead.

Huh? I scratched my head.

Similar to how Lily and I usually left the café when we closed shop, every table was left sparkly clean, and the chairs were stowed away at each one. The cash register and espresso machines were in the same place as before, but had become somewhat shinier as if someone had wiped it down.

"W-Were these always that clean?" I walked behind the counter and into the kitchen, where a ruffling sound popped out from within the storage room.

Shit, the burglars really are in there!

I grabbed a nearby broom and bent my knees, readying an attack while the sound persisted. These fools will regret breaking into our-

"Meoow!"

Out jumped Sesame from a cardboard box, which he knocked over, spilling out something red in the process.

It was just you, Sesame...

I placed the broom back against the wall. Perhaps no one broke into the café in the first place.

Sesame jumped up to the counter and looked me in the eyes, as if trying to tell me something.

"Sorry I left you all alone here, buddy..." I petted his head while glancing around the rest of the kitchen. Every item was still there in the same spot I had left them in before. I then opened the fridge and the freezer, and sure enough, all the food was still untouched, wrapped tightly in saran wrap or packed in an airtight container.